The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-11-19
Story Of the Tragic Affair From IT'S
Inception to It's Close.
'Ruhe," the Cabslistio signal OF the An.
archlsts for socisl Rcvolution--Utter-
anccs of tho Leaders melted Their Fol-
lowers to Action.

marriage Of another one of the prisoners-eyery
detail Of these strange occurrences and tho ex-
traordinary train succeeding, now presents itself
again rs II the whole had passed but yesterday.
The keynote Of II all Is found in the platform
OF the mysterious !. A. A.. International Arbeit-
er (Workingmen's) Association--of which or.
ganization August Spies and his seven co de-
PENDANTS were leading members and upholdors.
In the International platform 1t urged "that
the present system under which property is
owned by individuals should be destroyed, and
that ull capital which has been produced by
labor should be transformed into common prop
erty by force" Eighty groups" Of this dam
gerous association existed in the United States,
chiefly Mt the great industrial centers, Chicago
alone being the il-starred possessor of seven.
Only q portion Of the members were armed,
yet the number of this class in Chicago
exceeded 1900, every man OF whom attended
regular military drills had his own rife and re.
volver. and could obtain dynamite and bombs
for the asking. The unarmed members OF the
groups were constantly in contact with their
armed brethren and in hearty sympathy with
their purposes and their principles. 1t was this
compact, well disciplined I. A. A. that had for
its organs three now noted newspapers-the
A'behcr Zeitang the Alarm and the anarchist.
Excepting handsome. youthful Louis Lingg,
who, though taking conspicuous part, was q
mere acting agent each Of the eight Haymarket
defendants was directly connected with one Of
these papers.
August Spies keen, cynical Hessian, with
the subtle intellectual vigor Of an Iago, was
editor-in.chief of the Ar6eiter. The jaunty,
daredevil little Texan, Albert r. Parsons,
presided over the Alarm. At the head OF
the anarchist George Engel, another Hes
sian, but Of coarse, brutal type, out
Heroded the most blood-thirsty utterances
of his compeers While Sam Felden, the
Englishman, sullen looking shaggy and forbid
ding hut uUitatOr ciInnlv volcanic and
Oscar Neebe, the attractive, polished German
American organizer, were more especially con-
cerned in the other thun the journalistic
branches OF the propaganda, they were, never
theless, among the directors respectively Of the
Alarm and the Arbeiter Zeitung The gaunt b.
varian, Michael Schwab, was Spies assistant
editor, and his fellow countryman Adolph
Fischer, he Of the poisoned dagger, was the
Ar6siter's head foreman.
During the long months preceding the bomb
throwing the defendants one and all were in
cessnnty active in agitating and organizing In
demonstrations" and experiments" Their
speeches and articles fairly bristled with impas-
stoned appeals for the laboring people to pro-
vide themselves with firearms and dynamite.
Specific instructions were given how to handle
and use the explosive, and how to make bombs
and how to procure weapons. All this was
stated by the conspirators to be making ready
for the coming social revolution" What was
vaguely inferred, nor was the time when it was
to be inaugurated dim uncertainty Of the fu-
turc The revolution" was frequently defined
in speech and writing as q sudden, bloody, forci-
BILE upheaval OF the right OF private ownership
Of property, then the bringing about Of u state
of society in which all property should be held
in common.
Incredible rs It may SEEM the avowed pur-
pose was to deluge the city in blood OF the
property owning classes, first destroying the
police and militia, who were derided as their
special champions. The period Of confusion de-
veloping from the mammoth strikes of the 1st OF
May, 1886. was definitely announced months be-
fore as the time when the fearful bolt should
fall. Pitiless ns was this programme and diff
cult US belief is that 1t ever was contemplated
by men, the facts as stated were abundantly
proven in court.
The diabolism was fully shared in by
women. Just one day before the time set for
the strikes Louis Lingg, the bombmaker, slip
ped into his lodgings a heavy, suspicous-lool-
ing box, three feet in length. The box contain
ed large invoice Of dynamite. Its delivery ut
Linggs lodgings was the first immediate prep
aration for the bloody result of five days later.
For many weeks previous Lingg
had been purchasing and experimenting
with dynamite rs the paid agent OF one OF the
seven International "groups," but subsequent
events showed beyond any reasonable doubt
that this particular explosive made the bomb
that was heard round the world. The bomb, with
fifty others was manufactured by Lingg under
the auspices OF the international Association,
which furnished the money, and OF which the
celebrated defendants were not members sim
ply but leaders
Next day, May /, the eight hour strikes began
In earnest, and by nightfall when the first intel
ligent estimates were obtainable, $1,000 men
walked the streets idle. Promptly In the morn.
ing, Sunday, when the churches throughout the
xt,;tl
the stufy little Bohemian Hall on Emma
street was crowded with members oi
the Lehr and Wehr Verein, IN
inner circle OF the omnipresent InternatioEf
Detailed plans for the near-at-hand conflict with
the police were submitted by Editor Engel and
listened to by Spies lieutenant Fischer. These
plans were the ones followed almost to the let
ter Mt the Haymarket, but the decision to do SC
was not reached at this meeting. Instead IL
was determined to take action ut another gath
ering of the Lehr and Wehr in larger hall and
more central location, to be assembled within
twenty -four hours. This was to be in Greifs
Hall Monday night, Maya
the ArbeRer Zehung, Of which Spies and
Schwab were the editors and managers, called
together the armed men who were to engage In
this specific compact to murder. The Sunday
evening edition. published few hours after the
Bohemian Hall meeting, contained this cab
alistic legend: 'Y-Somme Montag Abend. .
(Y-Come Monday night. This was the sum
mons to the armed sections to meet, Us they
did, Monday night at Greif's. The call was
published again Monday afternoon. indicating
the importance OF the matters to come be
fore the meeting. The Sunday issue of the Ar
better had u significant article, urging ''quic,
and immediate action" adding: by Monday
or Tuesday the conflict must have reached It's
highest intensity. else success will then be
doubtful" Almost before the ink on this
could d:y, Spies was ut the Sunday afternoon
meeting Of the Central Labor Union arranging
t. have himself dispatched to McCormick's
factory the following day to address the
thousardc OF strikers out along the old Black
Road.
From the top of freight car on the prairie
near McCOrmick's next afternoon (Monday)
Spies belched into the ears of 12OOO excited
strikers, mostly foreigners. the hottest har
angue ever uttered by him In public. He spoke In
the German language, of which he is more mas
ter even than of English. The effect fhis words
were like magic. ION to McCormick'sr = was the
cry. The maddened horde, urged forward by
Spies Lngg and other daring Anarchists pres
ent, rushed Mt the great factory like so many
wild beasts. They had caught up powders ant
clubs on the way, and In un instant the thou
sand windows OF the factory were being shiver
ed into countless fragments. Then It wa.
that patrol wagons, loaded with police, tht
horses covered with foam, dashed through thu
crowd from behind. 1t Is admitted by Spe,
that he orde ed the mob, many OF whom wert
hourish!ng revOlvers, to resist the attempt o
the police to quell the riot OF course the vic
tors were the police, but that to Spies, accord
ing to hin own accounts, was not OF main con
cern. The blood OF workngmen had beer
drawn, and when he satisfied himself thnt sucl
result was produced, the Anarchist leade
coolly withdrew, though the battle was at III